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Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Respect Bowl: Alabama 27 Penn State 11

Led by A.J. McCarron, Trent Richardson, and a fierce defense, the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions by a score of 27-11 on Saturday.

McCarron, who has emerged as the Alabama starting quarterback, completed 19-of-31 passes for 163 yards including one touchdown.

The Tide sophomore looked calm and collected as he led the Crimson Tide offense in front of 107,846 spectators. The packed house at Beaver Stadium was the largest crowd on record to ever witness a University of Alabama football game.

Aerial Outcome

While A.J. McCarron had a solid afternoon as the primary quarterback for Alabama, the Penn State Nittany Lions, as expected, employed a two-quarterback system.

Starter Rob Bolden held his own and finished the game 11-of-29 for 144 yards including one interception.

Matthew McGloin on the other hand…was dreadful. McGloin was 1-of-10 for a grand total of zero yards.

Quarterback stability on the Alabama side of the ball, and lack of stability by PSU, was one of the many keys to victory for the Crimson Tide.

The Trent and Eddie Show

Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy combined for 196 yards and two touchdowns as the “two-headed monster” proved too much for the Penn State defense.

The ability to run the ball with success was critical on Saturday and will remain so as the season progresses.

Richardson: 26 Carries 111 Yards 2 TDsLacy: 11 Carries 85 Yards

Pitch-N-Catch

A.J. McCarron was solid, but a quarterback is only as good as his supporting cast.

Alabama received solid contributions in the “good hands” department from a plethora of players, including Marquis Maze, Michael Williams and Kevin Norwood.

Williams, the ‘Bama tight end, was on the receiving end of A.J. McCarron’s first quarter touchdown.